Fragile Fingers
by Chappy-the-Bunny
Summary: A baby bird's cry of distress force a situation onto Shizuo and Kasuka that the two aren't quite prepared for.


**Fragile Fingers**

The day was dying, giving into its nightly sister's ever-present hold. The passé sounds of squeaking chains and rubbing sneakers filled the courtyard, noises that had become the norm for late afternoon hours. Back and forth, to and fro, a much smaller Shizuo Heiwajima sat pleasantly upon one of the metal swings of the local playground. His younger, even smaller brother did just the same, though he found it much more difficult to pump his legs in time with that of the speed of his sibling.

"Kasuka, you gotta go higher 'en that!" Shizuo said, propelling himself further just for show.

"It makes my legs too tired. We have to walk home," Kasuka responded, his words compromising in nonchalance compared to his brother's bellow.

"Suit yourself. You're gonna be upset later, because you didn't get to swing for long enough," the elder of the two warned, kicking his feet forward and jumping off of the swing. His mount was almost perfect, though he did stumble into his proper footing.

"That was an eight, brother," Kasuka said, coming to a slow and getting off of his swing as well.

"Shut up, it was totally a nine and a half!"

"No it wasn't."

"Well, no one asked you in the first place!" Shizuo shouted, earning him the concerned looks of nearby mothers. With embarrassment settling in, the stout little bean sprout stomped off in a huff, and although he was the source of his brother's aggravation, Kasuka followed close behind.

Then, just as suddenly as he had started, he stopped. "Brother, do you hear that sound?"

"What sound?" Shizuo asked, reluctantly halting as well. "I don't hear anything."

"It sounds kind of like a bird," Kasuka continued.

"I don't hear any—" Shizuo groaned, but cut himself short when the damaged sound of a chirp became audible.

"Do you hear it now?" Kasuka questioned. A sly smile lined his lips, making his expression appear coy. One thing he enjoyed was proving his brother wrong, and fortunately for his satisfaction, such a thing happened quite often.

"Yeah, I do, but where is it coming from?"

"Let's look."

In pursuit of their sought out source, Shizuo was needlessly surprised by what he had come across. Near the base of an old oak tree laid the helplessly vulnerable victim, a baby bird that had presumably been knocked out of its nest.

"Kasuka, it's over here!"

Standing in front of the grounded bundled of feathers, both brothers simply observed for a moment, trying to assess what should and what shouldn't be done. Shizuo, however, wasn't as well thought out as his brother and reached forward to touch the disheveled thing.

"Don't do that," Kasuka warned quickly, hitting at his brother's hand. Shizuo rapidly retracted backward, but that didn't stop him from getting frazzled.

"Why not?! We can't just let it lay there like that! Someone might step on it!"

"It might be sick. If we touch it, we could get sick, too."

Gulping back his fighting words, Shizuo ground his teeth together, hating the fact that Kasuka was right for the second time within mere minutes. The younger brother held no smiles come this round, however, and instead found himself wandering off toward the swing set.

"Wait, where are you going?" Shizuo asked, turning to watch as the distance between he and his brother grew.

"I want to swing more," was all he gave as an answer.

Shizuo stood, almost bewildered at how unmoved his brother was about this entire situation. Was he heartless, or was he logical? Shizuo just couldn't imagine fitting together one without the other. So with a heavy heart and an even heavier mind, the small boy squatted down and tried to think of what he could do, if anything, to help such a poor little creature that didn't even get the chance to live its life, let alone spread its wings.

Aimlessly muttering plans and objectives to himself, for what could have only been a glimmer of a moment, Shizuo could have sworn on all of his holy stars that those small, bead-like eyes met his own, asking him, pleading him, begging for his help.

Shizuo could feel it. He could feel his heart pumping blood through his veins at a pace that was far too quick for his liking. His head hurt and his skin was glistening in sweat. He had to do something. He had to do it and he had to do it quickly, while still being as careful as can be.

Holding his breath, cautiously, with the most fragile of fingers, Shizuo scooped up the battered animal, carrying it as if just the slightest shift of his hands would shatter the bird like porcelain.

Within close proximity to the tree by which he had found the fallen bird, Shizuo could see that the area was heavily planted with bushes and shrubs, perfect for keeping playful children out of the surrounding streets. Walking on eggshells, Shizuo made his way over to one of the more rounded of the shrubbery, deciding that it would be a well enough place the set down the small bird. It was safer, more drawn back from public attention, and would protect its little life far better than any bed of tree roots would.

"You're gonna be okay now. Just stay there until your Mama comes to get you," Shizuo whispered, biting his lip with compassion for the creature and turning away.

Racing back to where Kasuka was just getting off of his swing, that being the second time in this one afternoon, Shizuo couldn't help but smile, his teeth shining brightly with eyebrows lax to coincide with his jovial expression. "I did it!" he cheered, extending his arms forward. "I saved the bird!"

"No you didn't," Kasuka replied, shaking his head.

"What do you mean I didn't?! I put it in a bush just now! It's safe! Nothing can hurt it and its Mama is gonna come back and take it up to their nest!" Shizuo protested on, his lips slightly falling from their upward curvature.

"That's not going to happen. Mama birds don't help baby birds that have fallen out of nests. They leave them. It's going to die."

More than anything Kasuka had ever done before, even more than the time that he had eaten Shizuo's last pudding cup that he had clearly marked as his own, there was nothing worse that Kasuka could have said to the blissful boy at this very moment. It was unstoppable; the rage that burned in his core and made his tongue feel hot and sloppy. Shizuo could have screamed. He could have yelled and thrown his arms up in the air in a fitted frenzy. But he refrained. He didn't shout and he didn't scream. He did, however, say in the most quietly angered of tones, words that Kasuka would not soon forget.

"We're all going to die someday."

There was no waiting. He didn't halt, nor did he falter, but instead, Shizuo proceeded onward, headed for home. Evening clouds had begun to blanket the sky and the air was beginning to feel crisp. The boy fancied quick rather than long strides, greatening the distance between him and Kasuka with every step.

Fatigue, sadness even, soon began to settle into Shizuo's heart, weighting the organ down all the more with countless emotions that he did not want to be feeling. Gradually, his pace had slowed, giving Kasuka the opportunity to catch up with him with little to no effort at all.

A mutual silence was shared between the two for what felt like hours. What had been a surprise to them both was that Kasuka had been the one to break it, voicing a very simple, "Brother?"

A disgruntled noise was all that Shizuo had mustered up in response. Anything else and he felt as if he would either go off in a blind rage or break down into millions of tears.

"I'm happy you saved the baby bird."

"Tch, what are you talking about? It's just going to die anyways, right?" Shizuo scoffed, fitting his small hands into the even smaller pockets of his shorts.

"But, it's going to know that someone kind and gentle tried to save it."

There it was; another feeling to add onto Shizuo's plate of emotions. This one, however, he couldn't say that he minded it all that much. It felt nice. It made his body feel warm, but not in a bad way. It almost made him feel a little bit_ too_ warm, something that he most certainly was not customary with.

Shizuo had quickly acquired a blush that shot straight up to his ears, casting a vibrant glow across his face and making his palate run dry. Kind, gentle, they were not words that came along when describing the boy. They were words that were used for Kasuka, never him. For such simple words with even simpler of meanings, they had a rather mighty impact on the boy.

"Kasuka…" Shizuo tried to say properly, though his voice failed him toward the ending syllable.

"What is it, brother?"

Drawing one of his hands from his pockets, Shizuo hesitantly held out his palm for Kasuka to grab, saying, "We need to cross the street, so I want you to hold my hand."

Normally, Kasuka would civilly retaliate, saying multiple things that all revolved around the same idea: he was old enough to cross the street without holding his older brother's hand. However, just for today, in a subtle silence, Kasuka laced his fingers awkwardly through Shizuo's, feeling just that much safer as he and his brother made their way, hand-in-hand, to the other side of the road.

* * *

_Hello everyone! Chappy here! :D_

_Today is a very special day! It's _**kc creation**_'s birthday! :D_

_ I wrote this story as a birthday present for her, so I hope that she likes it! I hope all of you like it, as well! :D_

**kc creation**_ is someone who is very important to me, because thanks to her motivational and constructive support, I strive to write everything that I produce to the best of my abilities. She's my idol in writing and always will be. Someday, I truly hope to write things just as well as her._

_I hope you have a happy birthday, Kelsey. (:_

_- Chappy_


End file.
